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For Release: June 24, 1999
"Operation Cure.all" Targets Internet Health Fraud
FTC Law Enforcement and Consumer Education Campaign Focuses
on Stopping the
Quacks and Supplying Consumers with Quality Information
Internet health fraud is the target of a comprehensive law
enforcement and consumer education
campaign announced today by the Federal Trade Commission at a
press conference in Washington,
D.C. The campaign, "Operation Cure.All," uses the Internet
both as a law enforcement tool to stop
bogus claims for products and treatments touted as cures for
various diseases and as a
communication tool to provide consumers with good quality
health information. Four cases that
resulted from the agency's "Health Claims Surf Day" were part
of today's announcement. The
companies settled FTC charges that the four web sites made
deceptive and unsubstantiated health
claims concerning "miracle cures" for serious illnesses:
cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and liver
disease, among others. Also unveiled at the press conference
were valuable resources for
consumers to use to obtain reliable health information on the
Web.
"Quality, not quackery is the focus of our new campaign,
"Operation Cure.All," said Jodie
Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer
Protection. "As consumers become more
assertive about making their own health care decisions, the
Internet offers a powerful tool for finding
health information. Our survey of the web sites found that
too many make deceptive, unproven and
fraudulent claims. Miracle cures, once thought to be laughed
out of existence, have found a new
medium. Consumers now spend millions on unproven, deceptively
marketed products on the Web.
Our law enforcement efforts will continue to focus on
deceptive and unproven claims. But limited
resources cannot keep up with the proliferation of web sites
promoting fraudulent products.
Consumers must be provided with reliable resources so that
they can use the Internet to find the
support and health care information they need."
Bernstein said that nearly 22.3 million adults in this
country sought health and medical information
online as of December 1998, making health and medical content
the sixth most commonly accessed
type of information on the Web. Twenty-nine percent of all
Americans looked to the Internet for
medical information and nearly 70 percent of those searching
for health care information on the
Web, do so before visiting a doctor's office, she said. Most
online consumers search for information
about diseases, and about one out of four of these consumers
joins an online support group.
Cancer-related searches are the most frequently sought
disease category, followed by heart disease.
At the press conference, Bernstein outlined the charges in
the four cases, gave the results of "Health
Claims Surf Days," which the agency conducted with public
health, consumer protection and
information agencies from 25 countries, including the United
States, Canada, and Mexico, and
introduced two new FTC Consumer Alerts, titled "Fraudulent
Health Claims: Don't Be Fooled" and
"Virtual 'Treatments' Can Be Real-World Deceptions."
Also appearing at today's event was Dr. Mary Jo Deering,
Director of Health Communication and
Telehealth at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Dr. Deering spoke on behalf of
healthfinder, the federal consumer health information
gateway, and the HHS Science Panel on
Interactive Communication and Health. The panel has issued a
report that presents specific guidance
for promoting sound, appropriate assessment of this emerging
field.
"The Internet is an important new tool for promoting health
and spreading the prevention message.
But with so many consumers relying on health information from
the Web, we need to ensure that
what they find is sound. www.healthfinder.gov is the federal
gateway for reliable information. It
provides specific resources to educate people about fraud and
quackery and how to find and
evaluate information on the Web," said Dr. David Satcher,
Assistant Secretary for Health and
Surgeon General.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also has a website,
located at www.fda.gov, which is
another valuable source of accurate and unbiased information.
"The Internet can be a very powerful
and useful tool for consumers - but it must be used
carefully," said Gary Dykstra, FDA's Deputy
Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. "In
particular, consumers need to check out
medical products or services offered on the Internet with
physicians, pharmacists and other health
care professionals. FDA is committed to working with the FTC,
and with healthcare and consumer
groups to help broaden consumer awareness about the Internet
- its potential benefits and possible
risks."
The FTC conducted two Health Claim Surf Days, one in 1997 and
the other in 1998. The surf days
identified approximately 800 World Wide Web sites and
numerous Usenet newsgroups that contain
questionable promotions for products or services purporting
to help cure, treat or prevent six
diseases: heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, arthritis,
and multiple sclerosis. After each Surf
Day, web sites were sent e-mail messages, alerting them that
their claims require scientific
substantiation and that disseminating false or
unsubstantiated claims violates federal law. Following
the e-mail, FTC staff surveyed a representative sample of the
1998 sites and found that 28 percent
of the sites had either removed their claims or had been
taken down. Bernstein said that the agency
is very encouraged by the fact that over a hundred sites
making questionable claims voluntarily
cleaned up their act, but warned that the agency will
continue to monitor the Web for fraud and
deception and bring law enforcement cases as appropriate.
In the four FTC cases announced today, the companies were
charged with making unsubstantiated
health claims for products advertised on the Internet. The
companies agreed to settle the charges
and the proposed settlement agreements were announced today
for public comment.
According to the agency, John Sneed and Melinda Sneed d/b/a
Arthritis Pain Care Center
(APCC) marketed CMO, purportedly a fatty acid derived from
beef tallow, to distributors and
consumers. APCC claimed that CMO cures most forms of
arthritis by permanently modifying the
immune system, and that the product is beneficial in treating
numerous other diseases. The complaint
alleges that APCC's efficacy claims are unsubstantiated and
that the claims about certain scientific
studies, including studies at the National Institutes of
Health, are false. The proposed settlement
would resolve the charges by prohibiting APCC from making
unsubstantiated claims for CMO. The
company also would be prevented from making unsubstantiated
health claims for any food, drug,
dietary supplement or program and from misrepresenting the
results of any tests or research.
Body Systems Technology, Inc. (BST) sells to consumers shark
cartilage capsules as well as
capsules and liquid containing a Peruvian plant derivative,
Cat's Claw, the agency charged. The
company promoted them as effective treatments for cancer,
HIV/AIDS, and arthritis, and
represented to consumers that scientific studies established
their efficacy. In fact, according to the
FTC, the claims are unsubstantiated. The proposed consent
order would prohibit similar
unsubstantiated claims for any product or program and also
would bar BST from making
unsubstantiated health claims for any food, drug, dietary
supplement or program. Additionally, the
proposed order would require BST to identify, notify, and
make refunds to all purchasers of these
products during a proscribed period of time, the agency said.
Magnetic Therapeutic Technologies, Inc. and Jim B. Richardson
(MTT) promote magnetic
therapy devices, using testimonials to help extol their
purported ability to treat and alleviate a
multitude of medical problems and diseases, including various
types of cancer and high blood
pressure. According to the FTC's complaint, MTT made
unsubstantiated claims that its magnetic
therapy products are effective in treating various cancers,
HIV and other diseases and health
conditions. The proposed consent order would prohibit MTT
from making similar unsubstantiated
claims for magnetic therapy products and other
unsubstantiated claims about health benefits,
performance or efficacy of any product or program.
Pain Stops Here! Inc. and Sande R. Caplin (PSH), also
promoted magnetic therapy devices
and made disease treatment claims for its devices. This
company operates in a similar manner as
MTT, the FTC said. PSH markets magnetic therapy devices as
effective in treating a variety of
ailments, including cancer, liver disease, and arthritis. The
complaint challenges ten claims as
unsubstantiated. The proposed consent order would prohibit
PSH from making similar
unsubstantiated efficacy claims for magnetic therapy
products, as well as any other unsubstantiated
claims about the performance, safety, efficacy, or health
benefits of any product or program. It also
would prohibit PSH from misrepresenting the results of any
scientific studies or research.
Bernstein offered consumers the following tips for evaluating
any health claim. She said if it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is. She also said to be on
the lookout for the typical phrases and
marketing techniques fraudulent promoters use to deceive
consumers.
The product is advertised as a quick and effective
cure-all for a wide range of ailments.
The promoters use words like scientific breakthrough,
miraculous cure, exclusive
product, secret ingredient or ancient remedy.
The text is written in "medicalese" -
impressive-sounding terminology to disguise a lack of
good science.
The promoter claims the government, the medical
profession or research scientists have
conspired to suppress the product.
The advertisement includes undocumented case histories
claiming amazing results.
The product is advertised as available from only one
source.
Bernstein also expressed the agency's appreciation for the
assistance of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, San Diego
Field Office; Health Canada;
Secretaria de Salud of Mexico; the Office of the Texas
Attorney General and the North Carolina
Attorney General; the Texas Department of Health; and the
California Department of Health, San
Diego Office in " Operation Cure.All."
The Commission vote to approve the proposed settlements for
public comment was 4-0.
A summary of each of the proposed consent agreements will be
published in the Federal Register
shortly. They will be subject to public comment for 60 days,
after which the Commission will decide
whether to make them final. Comments should be addressed to
the FTC, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
